"He really wants to be a lap dog. He will actually take naps laying with his head in my lap. The first time he did that, I felt like the most special person in the world. The fact that he trusts me that much is something I'll never take for granted."
That wasn't always the case. When Kameryn Stockar first met Scandalous Love (whom she re-christened "Regal") it was anything but love at first sight. Stockar was and is based at The Stables at Fox Crossing in Cochranville, Pa., where she trains with professional event riders Chris and Marty Armstrong. In 2015, Scandalous Love was sent to Marty Armstrong as a 5-year-old retired racehorse who was, shall we say, a problem child.
Bred in Maryland by Tom and Chris Bowman, the chestnut gelding is by 2004 Pennsylvania Derby-G2 winner Love of Money out of the winning Polish Numbers mare Double Your Luck. He was purchased as a yearling from the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic December 2011 mixed sale by Harry Kassap from the consignment of the Bowmans' daughter Becky Davis.
Kassap sent the horse to trainer Tim Woolley, for whom he made 10 starts as a 4-year-old in 2014. He had one win, one second and two thirds, earning $12,597. His trainer remembers more than on-track achievements.
"He was just a flat run-off," Woolley said. "He would run through that rail [pointing to the inside rail of Fair Hill Training Center's main track] just like, blind. But he was a nice horse, a really sweet horse, and she [Stockar] has done such a beautiful job with him."
That took awhile. Although fundamentally good-natured, Scandalous Love was at that point an angry horse who let it be known that a career on the racetrack was not in the cards. Marty Armstrong did his early reschooling work herself; Stockar recalls the process.
"She is really good with problem horses, and he had a reputation for being a really tricky horse. Tim told her when she picked him up to, 'Only ride him in the indoor with the doors closed.' He was really bad."
Stockar, who began taking dressage lessons in the second grade, moved to the Armstrongs' barn in middle school to pursue eventing. She was leasing an experienced schoolmaster to learn the ropes. The lease expired in 2018, and Marty suggested she try Scandalous Love. It was Stockar's first experience with an off-track Thoroughbred. . . and it nearly put her off them entirely.
"He was a bit too much for me initially. I wasn't really his biggest fan to begin with. I really didn't like riding him, but I liked who he was, which was why I stuck with him. It was a bit tough getting him over fences at first. But he ended up teaching me so much."
As the pair progressed, the horse's behavioral issues reoccurred, leading Stockar and the Armstrongs to have him examined by Dr. Celia Goodall.
"We took films of his back and that was when we found the closeness in his dorsal spine and that led us to a kissing-spine diagnosis," Stockard said. "There are plenty of ways to treat that. We were treating it with steroid injections for a while but he was still painful. So that was when we opted for surgery. We would do the injections every six months and that kept him comfortable for at least a year. But eventually we found they weren't lasting as long and the behavioral issues were returning, so that was when we started to explore other options."
In autumn 2020, Goodall recommended Stockar send Scandalous Love to New Bolton Center for surgery.
"He had the less invasive option; it was performed standing and they go in and cut the ligaments going up to the spine. He was out of work in a stall for three weeks, then lunging for three weeks and then back under saddle, so it wasn't super dramatic, and we would hand-walk him. He was a trooper though. We got him all the stall toys."
After getting to know Stockar during her horse's treatments and surgery, Goodall offered her a job when a veterinary technician was relocating out of the area. Stockar began working for Goodall three years ago, describing it as a "right place, right time" opportunity.
His physical and psychological issues resolved, Scandalous Love settled into life as an event horse, steadily rising up the ranks. They began at beginner novice and have now competed at the modified level, with 2022 the year Stockar considers their best. They qualified for the United States Eventing Association's American Eventing Championships at training level. They also compete frequently in the 3-foot-6 division in open jumpers.
Two years ago, a coworker mentioned she was participating in the Real Rider Cup and suggested Stockar might be interested.
"I thought it sounded like a really great cause. I'm a huge Thoroughbred fan so I was all in. It sounded like fun."
They finished fourth individually and were part of the winning team, representing Sports Medicine Associates of Chester County. They'll return to the competition this year when the 2025 event is held in conjunction with the MARS Maryland 5 Star at Fair Hill Oct. 18.
While an event of that magnitude could cause concern for some, Stockar isn't stressing about how Scandalous Love will cope with the crowds and environment.
"I think we as riders get worried about things, but Thoroughbreds are exposed to so much as young horses. I think that gives them a head-start in their show horse career. They are used to all the noise and activity. My biggest surprise was taking Regal to his first show. He got off the trailer and was like 'OK, whatever.' He didn't care at all about all the commotion. When we go somewhere else or to a show, he gets in a zone. He's actually easier to ride."
Eleven years removed from his racing career, Scandalous Love is exactly what Woolley declared him to be -- a really sweet horse. "Goofy" and "a little needy sometimes" is how Stockar describes him, adding that he prefers people to other horses. Turnout time is an absolute must for his -- and her -- mental health. A bit of a rough-houser, he goes out with an older group of geldings who pay no mind to his antics.
Far from his days as a runaway, he now loves going bridle-less or with no tack at all. He's happy to hack around the farm and hop over fences one day then go out and jump big cross-country fences the next. Stockar says the horse knows his way around Fair Hill better than she does and is happy to give a quiet lead to young horses transitioning to second careers. He's very brave, she said, as long as there are no frogs. He hates frogs.
"It took awhile for him to settle down, and honestly I'm not sure he has. He's still a bit of a knucklebutt. But he always tries so hard, always giving 110 percent whether you're asking for it or not. He really wants to be a good boy."
